Sri Lanka's Cardinal and the Buddhist-Catholic axis

In the face of the invasion of Evangelical groups, the Archbishop of Colombo, Albert Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don, has proposed a common front between Catholics and Buddhists

Gianni ValenteRome

A sort of "alliance" between the Buddhist majority and Catholic minority, has been suggested by Cardinal Albert Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don, for a unified response to the massive and well-funded proselytism campaigns enacted in Sri Lanka by evangelical groups connected to the global Pentecostal network centers. The Cardinal has taken this path, in order to curb the spread of evangelical missions which are alarming both the Catholic hierarchy and Buddhist leaders with their aggressive propaganda methods, sowing discord between the two communities.

The proposal was recently formalized, in the presence of politicians and journalists who were convened at the archbishop's palace. In that setting, Patabendige Don explicitly asked the government to establish an inter-religious committee of Christians and Buddhists to confront together the hyperactive proselytism and unruly groups of North American ancestry who are infiltrating the metropolitan area of Columbus, organizing public prayers, healing sessions and overwrought conventions of religious propaganda. "Some evangelical churches" the Cardinal explained, "are offering financial incentives to Catholics and Buddhists to induce them to conversion."According to the Sri Lankan prelate, the inter-religious body he would like to see established, would work as a real tool for monitoring the proselytism of evangelical groups, with relative powers of interdiction, to curb unregulated development of their activities and the network of their logistic bases.

The cardinal also said he was convinced that the committee would function as a chamber for conciliating and settling religious tensions: for his eminence, it would be an antidote to political attempts to ride the wave of hostility and prejudice that are growing among the Buddhist population, affecting all Christians that are unable to distinguish differences and approaches of the different Churches and religious communities. The establishment of an inter-religious organisation could ensure the anti-conversion bill pending in Parliament, is shelved. Christian minorities, including Catholics, see this bill as a dangerous legal liberticidal instrument.

The reactions of the Buddhist to the comments by the Archbishop of Colombo, reported by the agency Ucanews, were quick to arrive. The monk Kamburugamuwe Wajir Thero, chancellor of Sabaragamuwa University, said he immediately agreed with the suggestion made by the Cardinal to monitor evangelical communities: "the country needs something like this"said the Buddhist monk, citing the Buddhists converted by the evangelical and the attacks which, like reprisals, have hit all the Christian Churches.

For his part, Pastor Rohan de S. Ekanayaka, Secretary General of the National Christian Fellowship of Sri Lanka (national coordination of the evangelical community) has strongly rejected the charges of selling conversions: "When we help a beggar, we do not speak to him about religion. Our pastors never offer money to expand their communities. They follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. They live a simple life," the evangelical leader said.

Patabendige Don's initiative, surprises and in many ways avoids being likened to and categorised as one of the thoughts that have crystallized in ecclesiastical debates, in recent years.

First, some of the many admirers of the traditional sensitivity of the Sri Lankan Cardinal may be surprised by the vehemence with which he himself, this time, calls for the establishment of a body for inter-religious dialogue. The current Archbishop of Colombo never missed an opportunity to present himself as a champion of Catholic identity. In the years when he operated in the Roman Curia as Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship, he distinguished himself for his enthusiastic support for the liberalization of the Tridentine liturgy and his criticism of liturgical abuses of a syncretistic flavor. At a conference held in Holland, in Hertogenbosch, on October 6, 2007, he severely criticized the bishops who experienced discomfort when choosing "liturgical tolerance" towards the old pre-conciliar rite introduced by the Pope, which he believed were likely to be used even as "tools of the devil".

In Sri Lanka, where the Church is a minority, Patabendige has prudently shown appreciation for the sympathetic openness shown to religious traditions, which traditionalists see as one of the original sins of the conciliar reform. He has shown his appreciation in a non-syncretistic way, whilst still following the dictates of the Council.

Another sensitive point touched by the initiative of the Sri Lankan Cardinal, is the problematic "discernment" of the Pentecostal-evangelical phenomenon by the Catholic Church. On the Asian continent, dominated by ancient religious traditions and cultures, the proclamation of the Gospel by Catholics has progressively marked its difference from the aggressive practices and methods that characterize the sects and the free Evangelical Protestant churches. On the other hand, the non-invasive approaches by missionaries suggested by the Council with the development of the so-called inculturation categories, were subjected to several criticisms in recent years in the Catholic world. The missionary methods have been accused of timidity and excessive irenics in the enhancement of local religions. It is this expansion of neo-protestant impetuosity that was sometimes referred to as a model by Catholic critics of alleged excessive precautions used by its Church in mission areas.

Pope Benedict XVI too, in his book Light of the world, recognised "the great phenomenon of Evangelicals, which has spread with a powerful impetus, changing the religious landscape of Third World countries." The Sri Lankan case confirms that the approach to the phenomenon by the Church of Rome must necessarily take into account elements of a different and unique nature, avoiding pre-packaged solutions and dribbling insidious aporias. At a time when Catholic organizations like the Central Synod of Bishops are preparing to focus their attention on the new evangelization, it is urgent to have a preliminary recognition of the inherent nature of the Gospel and the Christian mission. Otherwise, the abstractions and wordplay risk being displaced by the simple and direct language of minister Rohan S. de Ekanayaka, who, in his reply, also wanted to remind the Catholic Cardinal of Sri Lanka that "it is the mission of every Christian to spread the Good News."